Page 57 of The Alien Reindeer's Bounty
He grinned to bare his teeth, fangs on display. She reached out to touch them but pulled back. “That triggered a mate bond. It is a biological reaction in my people,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
“My body craves only yours. I am especially attuned to your aura. Some stories claim we have a psychic connection, but that may be a myth.”
“I dreamed of you. For years,” she said. “They were so real, like you were right here, like you never left. When I woke up, I had to lose you all over again.”
“I hate that our separation caused you pain. When my father returned to Reilen, I was still a child. I had no choice but to obey. Every day since reaching my majority, I fought to return to you.” Schemed and bargained, too.
Her aura dimmed and she pushed away. “That bite was an accident, though.”
He brushed back her hair, catching the scent of her floral shampoo. “Not all accidents are mistakes.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s so obvious English isn’t your first language. How did I not notice? Accidents are mistakes, or at least mishaps.”
“If you’re about to berate yourself to removing my choice and binding me to you, stop. You were always my choice, Odessa. I lacked the confidence to take what was mine, so fate bound us together. Okay?”
“Okay,” she breathed.
“There is one secret remaining.” He removed his shirt and kicked off his shoes.
Her eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, you don’t have some sort of freaky alien equipment, do you? Because I love you, Mads, I really do, but this is too much to lay on a girl.”
His hands paused just over the button on his jeans. “You love me?”
Her face flushed a pretty pink, but she did not look away. “Well, yeah. I have since I decided boys weren’t so gross and I don’t think I’ve ever really stopped. It’s always been you.”
He slammed his mouth to hers, forceful with need. His fangs descended, aching to sink into her. The kiss was not elegant or skilled, but it belonged to her. All his kisses belonged to her. “I love you,” he said, pulling away. “From the first moment we met. I did not know the words in my language or yours, but I felt them.”
Her hands drifted to his zipper. “You had something to show me?”
Stripping quickly, he left a trail of clothes to the back door.
“Um, okay,” she said, as he strode onto the patio nude.
“Watch.” He crouched, one hand on the ground, and shifted. The change came easily, his body fluid, searching for another way of being. Then he reformed, and that always took a toll.
His senses—sight, scent—were heightened, but the aura of the world fell away. Odessa remained the bright point in the fog, as always.
“Oh. My. Gosh.” She stretched out a hand and he nuzzled the palm with his snout. “You’re so soft,” she exclaimed.
He huffed, the warm cloud of the breath hanging in the chilled air, and kneeled. He tossed his head, gesturing to his back.
“I’m not sure what you want,” she said.
Gently he took the cuff of her sweater in his teeth and pulled her closer.
“You want me to climb on your back.”
Another huff and a nod, mindful of his antlers to avoid jabbing her.
“You know you’re bigger than a reindeer, right? About as big as a horse.” She threw a leg over his back and hoisted herself over. Once she finished adjusting her seat, he took off at a gallop through the snow.
Odessa
They flew over the snow.Odessa leaned forward and hung low, her arms wrapped around the reindeer’s thick neck. Er, Mads’ neck. So weird.
Skillfully, he dodged trees and leaped nimbly over roots and fallen branches. He navigated the forest faster than she could process the hazards in their path.
